Two Days to Party: Good News and Bad

First the bad news.  I am concerned that a number of my blooms are misshapen. It may be weather. I hope that's it and not my fault for misusing Preen or other methods to get weeds under control.  

The good news is that more and more tall bearded iris are opening.  Blooming for the first time in my garden is Richard Tasco's 'Celestial Explosion.'  I believe this is one of last year's Wister medal winners.

'Celestial Explosion' (TB Tasco '04)

 One of the later IBs is 'Concertina.'  It's so pretty and I lost it several years back. The replacement bloomed this year. This 'space age' iris has very interesting horns at the tip of its wispy rust to lavender beards.

'Concertina' (IB George Sutton, R. 1999)

 Hard to capture the color even with some post photographic manipulation. but it is copper.

'Copper Classic' (TB E.Roderick'77)

 The evening light compliments this classic border bearded iris.

'Crabapple' (BB J. Terry Aitken '95)

 As I complete these blog entries, I realize they are all my favorites.  This on is too!  Monochromatic except for the throat of the beard, the being in the standards and the bleeding of lavender blue on the falls is quite dramatic.  The bloom is not large.

'Electric Shock' (Virginia Messick '95)

 To be an historic iris it must be more than 30 year since its introduction.  This on sure qualifies, but it foreshadows the modern iris with peppering on the falls.  But the falls are the traditional teardrop shape. Evening light makes it glow.

'Gibson Girl' (TB J.M.Gibson 1946)

'Gibson Girl' (TB J.M.Gibson 1946)

 I have a thing for peach. Jaime Lynn is an elegant iris.  In iris terms this is "ruffled coral peach self."  "Self" refers to a solid color on standards an falls.

'Jaime Lynn' (TB Hammer '84)

 For 75+ years, Schreiber's has dominated the hybridization and retailing of irises. A breathtaking sight, their display gardens and hundreds of acres of stock fields makes a trip to Salem, OR well worth the trip during bloom season.

'Let's Boogie' (TB Schreiner 1997)

Introduced almost 40 years ago, 'Sultan's Palace' remains great example of the pursuit of the elusive red iris.

'Sultan's Palace' (TB Schreiner 1977)

The joke about 'Victoria Falls' is that with a little rain and wind it surely will. At a stately 40 inches it must be staked. But it's worth it.  Introduced in the same year as Sultan's Palace it shows the pursuit of ruffling.

'Victoria Falls' (TB Schreiner 1977)

Just Too Tired to Label

I am exhausted. Here are some new blooms.  This weekend will be great! Night.... zzzz.

OK, Update!

Here is a misshapen bloom.  Not the only one.  Frost, pesticide or herbicide... Oh-oh.

'Backlit Beauty' (IB Tasco '10)

'Candy Rock' (IB George Sutton '00)

THERE IS a reason that these two pictures are here.  A visitor told me that I did not have the correct name on this. I ordered it again.  Clearly the first one was correct.  Sometimes even seasoned experts get it wrong. With 60K+ cultivars of bearded iris who could know them all!

'Clarence' (TB Lloyd Zurbrigg '90 Bed C-1)

'Clarence' (TB Lloyd Zurbrigg '90 Bed D-1n)

No show bench for this bloom.  It's a twin.  The bloom stalk splits in a Y about half way up.

'Frisky Frolic' (IB Paul Black '08)

Unknown Historic

'I'm On Fire' (IB Thomas Johnson '11)

'Lyrique' (BB Blyth '86)

'Magic Bubbles' (IB A.&D. Willow 1994)

'Victoria Falls' dropped a bloom... :-(

TB Explosion: 3-2-1

Sunday is my season celebration party.  If you didn't get an invite, I apologize! Send an email and I'll take care of that!

Here's the the status of the bed now.  With with 4 days predicted to be in the high 80s a lot of the buds will pop.  There is also a prediction for scatted thunderstorms between now and then. Tomorrow I will be staking some of the really tall guys.

This is the first TB to open for me.  I believe it to be 'Hemstitched.' But as I look at some postings I am not so sure... more research to be done!

This is an unidentified historic iris.  The simple, tear-drop shaped falls are a giveaway that this is not a modern hybrid.

Here is the first bloom from my broken pattern bed.  I call it the bestiary.  Broken Pattern or "Zebras" are those irises with splotches or irregular patterns. 'Maria Tormena' won the race this year.  It is the first time it has bloomed for me.

'Maria Tormena' (TB Ensminger '89)

 Apply named, Land of Fire brings together dramatically vivid colors into flow of lava.

'Terre De Feu' (TB Cayeaux '97)

 Below is an unknown cultivar by my patio.  I suspect it is from a GRIS sale and its label got lost! I know one of my friends will know it.  I think it is an IB but it could be a late SDB.

Medians and First TB about to Open

Yes, the first tall bearded will be open tomorrow!  And lots more will follow, especially since the forecast of for the rest of the week is 80º or higher. 'Hemstitched' is also pictured in the title above. It is encouraging that the height of this is in line with its predicted height.  Usually this blooms less tall in my garden.

'Hemstitched' (TB Ben Hager '89)

Sutton's combination of  yellow plicata and violet blue/orange bears is distinctive because of its horn. Note that the beard comes to point and rises from the fall.

'Abbey Chant' (IB George Sutton '98)

Here's an MTB that is blooming at Diamond Rise for the first time.  It does not show the classic MTB form is this bloom so it isn't ready for the show bench.  The rounded tear drop falls are common on MTBs. It's a reminder of the historic TBs.

'Apricot Drops' (MTB Terry Aitken '00)

Described as 'grape purple' this plicata is edged with a generous band of what I would call mulberry. This is the second year that it has performed very nicely.

'Outer Edge' (IB Paul Black '11)

I love this IB!  It provides a beautiful clump and as 'Bluebeard's Ghost' fades, its inverse 'Star In the Night'

'Star In The Night' (IB Paul Black '09)

One of the few non tall bearded iris to win the top honor for any iris, the Dykes Medal, 'Starwoman' is a reliable IB.

'Starwoman' (IB Marky Smith '98)

More Medians Monday April 23

Another of the group of SDBs by Paul Black that I purchased in 2014 from Schreiner's. The colors  of 'April Fanfare' are certainly vibrant and reminiscent of one of my favorites, 'Frisky Frolic.'  The use of April in the name reveals it's West coast Willamette Valley origin!

'April Fanfare' (SDB Paul Black 2014)

 Two Intermediate bearded irises that look well together. 'Obligato' is just joining the party.

'Harlow Gold' (IB Paul Balck '82)

'Obligato' (IB Stahly '88)

Another Paul Black SDB from 2014. 'Stop and Stare' came from Mid-America, where he and Thomas Jonson have been introducing iris since the early 80s when they were in Oklahoma.  They moved to Oregon where the climate is perfect for irises.

'Stop and Stare' (SDB Paul Black '14)

SDBs and IBs Make Great Clumps

Here's a clump of the SDB 'Fruit Cup'.  Once an SDB or IB finds a location that suits it the clump will quickly put on a great display. This Paul Black introduction was purchased from Schreiber's in 2014 and look at it now!

'Fruit Cup' (SDB Paul Black '14)

Another Paul Black, this one an IB, also make a beautiful, bloom-filled clump. It was introduced more than 30 years before the 'Fruit Cup'.

'Harlow Gold' (IB Paul Black '82)

Another IB with more white and ruffle.

'Lemon Pop' (IB Larry Lauer '90)

Now here's an SDB that's having a difficult time establishing itself.  This is single bloom in it's third year.

'Ping'  (SDB Thomas Johnson '13)

And 'Tessie' has fully opened. It's has great substance and dramatic central white line on the falls.

'Tessie The Tease' (IB J.Griffin Crump 2006)

No Pictures, just TIPS and TERMS

There's no cultivar blooming for the first time today so I took the opportunity to simply record the state of about 1/4 of my my cultivars.  At the end of the of the season I will use these reference images to record growth, bloom time and growth.  Some are very healthy, but not not showing buds, others are not showing much increase.  Some are loaded with buds about to burst. So stay tuned.

During the lull I thought I would share some basics of growing irises and some of the the terms that I use in my blog.

GROWING TIPS
These are the most important rules to follow for MOST iris.

1) Irises must be planted right at the surface of the ground.  The top of the rhizome should be exposed.  They are not bulbs. If you plant them completely covered you will get poor results at best and at worst the will not survive.

2) Don't mulch over iris.  The need sun to keep them dry enough so that they do not become soggy and rot.

3) Irises need good drainage they like moderate to light water and they don't like their feet wet. In my yard irises grow best at the crest of a hill and on a slope.

4) Irises need FULL SUN.  This is defined as at least 6 hours of sun a day.  They my grow with less but will not bloom.

There's a lot more to know but with these basic rules you will have success with most irises,

There are varieties that need less water (aril) or more water (Japanese and Louisiana) but most folks grow bearded iris or Siberian iris.

BEARDED IRIS CATEGORIES
You will see these codes in my reference to beaded iris:

MDB - Miniature Dwarf Bearded - Shorter than 8", first to bloom.

SDB - Standard Dwarf Bearded - 8" to 15", next to to bloom.

IB - Intermediate Bearded - 15" to 27". bloom overlaps SDB to TB.

MTB - Miniature Tall Bearded - 15" to 27", to my eye this is what the names says: A TB run through a shrink ray.  The botton petals, or falls, are usually horizontal.  bloom overlaps SDB to TB.

BB - Border Bearded - 15" to 27" - These bloom with TBs but are shorter and make great borders, hence the name.

Median - Collectively SDB, IB, MTB, BB.  They are middle sized and becoming much more popular.  They are general easier to draw and withstand more severe weather.

TB - Tall Bearded - 28" and up (can be 40" or taller)  This is what most people think of when they think of iris.  They are spectacular.  They often must be staked especially the taller ones and a windy day or a rainstorm can bring them to rapid end.  The best are bred to have a sturdy stalk and petals with substance.

Whatever iris(es) you grow, they are the one flower with the broadest range of color and variety of pattern. Their bloom season is not long, but to most of us who love them, their ephemeral nature make them all the more beautiful and rewarding.